Etcetera
It is official. The Chinese have the fastest supercomputer in the world.
At 2.507 petaflops, Tianhe-1A has 1.4 times the horsepower of Cray's
XT5 Jaguar, its nearest rival. Just for the record, a flop is 1,000
trillion operations per second.
How things work
Supercomputers
It is official. The Chinese have the fastest supercomputer in the world. At 2.507 petaflops, Tianhe-1A has 1.4 times the horsepower of Cray's XT5 Jaguar, its nearest rival. Just for the record, a flop is 1,000 trillion operations per second.
So, how does a supercomputer manage this? There are two kinds of supercomputers - vectors and parallels. Vectors use an ultra-fast data pipeline to move data to a central processor. Parallel computers use multiple processors, each with its own memory bank, to split up tasks. In the 1980s, when the United States refused to sell a Cray to India, we built Param, a parallel processor that was twice as fast.
A vector computer can be compared to one person trying to solve a series of dozen algebraic equations in consecutive order while a parallel computer is akin to a dozen people each solving one equation. Vectors were the earliest supercomputers. A new breed of machines called parallel vectors uses both architectures together.
Supercomputers occupy a tremendous amount of space and guzzle electricity. The Tianhe-1A, for example, has 103 computer racks that occupy over 17,000 sq.ft., and consume 4.04 MW of electricity.
Just wondering
A king's memorial
Almost a year ago, most political parties in Maharashtra were trying hard to appeal to the local electorate. Read Marathi Manoos. Even as the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena took to the streets beating up taxi drivers and blaming the immigrant population for all the ills facing the city, including epidemics, the Congress declared that it would build a memorial for the Maratha king Shivaji. The location: in the Arabian Sea, one km off the coast. At a cost of Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer, the proposed memorial would house a museum and a humungous statue of the 17th century ruler. The state had plans to reclaim land and make it a tourist venue - an idea that even Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray described as utter "stupidity". An election and a year later, nothing has happened on the memorial front.
Compiled by T.V. Mahalingam
Quirky
The naked truth
A great voice, sleek dance moves, camera presence, rippling biceps, silicone implants or incredible fatness were some of the things that were needed to become famous in the world of reality television. Not any more. A new show, rather suitably titled "The Naked Truth", is casting for reality stars even as you are reading this. All you need to do is to drop your pants, get rid of your shirt and every other piece of clothing and get in front of a camera. The show is likely to be shot in a nudist resort in Florida and participants have been assured that their private parts will be blurred. That might leave some wondering what the point is of having such a show at all. Indian viewers, on the other hand, might hope that the producers of reality show Bigg Boss are inspired by The Naked Truth.
Snoot Corner
Foie Gras
Foie gras literally means "fat liver" in French. The French are the biggest producers and consumers of foie gras, which is made from the enlarged liver of a duck or a goose. Like most things French, there are elaborate laws to preserve the culinary heritage of foie gras. French laws mandate that foie gras should be made by force-feeding the birds with corn. Naturally, this is one dish that PETA activists abhor. Hungary, Bulgaria, the United States and China are the other countries that produce foie gras. The delicacy works well with wine, especially white wine. The French place a premium on the dish which is consumed on occasions like Christmas.
Supercomputers
It is official. The Chinese have the fastest supercomputer in the world. At 2.507 petaflops, Tianhe-1A has 1.4 times the horsepower of Cray's XT5 Jaguar, its nearest rival. Just for the record, a flop is 1,000 trillion operations per second.
So, how does a supercomputer manage this? There are two kinds of supercomputers - vectors and parallels. Vectors use an ultra-fast data pipeline to move data to a central processor. Parallel computers use multiple processors, each with its own memory bank, to split up tasks. In the 1980s, when the United States refused to sell a Cray to India, we built Param, a parallel processor that was twice as fast.
A vector computer can be compared to one person trying to solve a series of dozen algebraic equations in consecutive order while a parallel computer is akin to a dozen people each solving one equation. Vectors were the earliest supercomputers. A new breed of machines called parallel vectors uses both architectures together.
Supercomputers occupy a tremendous amount of space and guzzle electricity. The Tianhe-1A, for example, has 103 computer racks that occupy over 17,000 sq.ft., and consume 4.04 MW of electricity.
Just wondering
A king's memorial
Almost a year ago, most political parties in Maharashtra were trying hard to appeal to the local electorate. Read Marathi Manoos. Even as the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena took to the streets beating up taxi drivers and blaming the immigrant population for all the ills facing the city, including epidemics, the Congress declared that it would build a memorial for the Maratha king Shivaji. The location: in the Arabian Sea, one km off the coast. At a cost of Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer, the proposed memorial would house a museum and a humungous statue of the 17th century ruler. The state had plans to reclaim land and make it a tourist venue - an idea that even Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray described as utter "stupidity". An election and a year later, nothing has happened on the memorial front.
Compiled by T.V. Mahalingam
Quirky
The naked truth
A great voice, sleek dance moves, camera presence, rippling biceps, silicone implants or incredible fatness were some of the things that were needed to become famous in the world of reality television. Not any more. A new show, rather suitably titled "The Naked Truth", is casting for reality stars even as you are reading this. All you need to do is to drop your pants, get rid of your shirt and every other piece of clothing and get in front of a camera. The show is likely to be shot in a nudist resort in Florida and participants have been assured that their private parts will be blurred. That might leave some wondering what the point is of having such a show at all. Indian viewers, on the other hand, might hope that the producers of reality show Bigg Boss are inspired by The Naked Truth.
Snoot Corner
Foie Gras
Foie gras literally means "fat liver" in French. The French are the biggest producers and consumers of foie gras, which is made from the enlarged liver of a duck or a goose. Like most things French, there are elaborate laws to preserve the culinary heritage of foie gras. French laws mandate that foie gras should be made by force-feeding the birds with corn. Naturally, this is one dish that PETA activists abhor. Hungary, Bulgaria, the United States and China are the other countries that produce foie gras. The delicacy works well with wine, especially white wine. The French place a premium on the dish which is consumed on occasions like Christmas.
